Besides official engagements in New Delhi, including a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Deuba will also visit pilgrim city Varanasi.
New Delhi: The stage is set for the official visit of Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his spouse Dr Arzu Deuba to India on April 1. Various important issues will come to the table in the talks during the three-day visit.
India's development cooperation with Nepal is one of the fundamental pillars of the bilateral partnership. It covers various areas such as road, rail, health, education, power, etc., which not only aim to improve infrastructure and cross-border connectivity between the two countries but also serve to make the ties even more people-centric.
India is the foremost development partner of Nepal. The India-Nepal cooperation for developing modern infrastructure in Nepal began in 1951 with the construction of Gauchar Airport (today known as the Tribhuvan Airport) in Kathmandu. The airport became operational in 1954.
Since 2003, over 523 special projects have been taken up by the Government of India, of which 467 have been completed, and the remaining 56 projects are ongoing. The total cost of these projects is around Rs 706 crore (Nepal currency Rs 1130 crore).
Sources say a total of USD 1.65 billion has been extended to Nepal under four separate Lines of Credit by the Govt of India, which have been utilized to finance several projects in Nepal, mostly roads, transmission lines and reconstruction projects. A new Mechi Bridge connecting the Kakarvitta-Panitanki border was completed in early 2021.
Of course, recent initiatives and milestones in India's development cooperation with Nepal are likely to be highlighted during the upcoming visit of the Nepal Prime Minister.
This will be the first bilateral visit abroad by the Prime Minister of Nepal after assuming his office in July 2021. A high-level delegation will accompany the Prime Minister.
Besides official engagements in New Delhi, including a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Deuba will also visit pilgrim city Varanasi. The Prime Minister of Nepal will call on Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.
"The upcoming visit will provide an opportunity to the two sides to review this wide-ranging cooperative partnership and to progress it further for the benefit of the two peoples," an MEA release said.
